Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1887-01-29
xEsX. CONGRESS-.
WASHINGTON, January %, 1887.
Senate.

senate.
Mr.. Edmunds, in presenting a me-
mortal from manufacturers and blisl-
ness-men in Vermont for the repeal or
reduction Of the internal-revenue taxes.
said many such petitions had been pre-
sented. In presenting this one and
moving its reference to the Committee
on Finance he wished to urge on the
committee the importance OF the
subject of reducing, il not alto
gcther repeating, this remnant OF
the unpleasantness of twenty-five years
AGO. He should be glad to see the
country restored to such business con
ditions as had existed before that time,
and to have the resources of the Gov
eminent obtained entirely from impor-
tations, and little incidental matters OF
land, &C., instead of keeping up the
army of intcrnal-revenue taX-gatherers,
inspectors, and all that sort of thing.
He hoped the committee would take the
matter into serious consideration. Re
ferred to the Committee on Finance.
Mr. Cameron presented the creden-
.ials Of Matthew Stanley Quay as sen
ator from Pennsylvania for the term
commencing March I, 1887. Placed on
file.
Mr.. Malone presented numerous pc
titiOns from Virginia manufacturers OF
and dealers i'll tobacco for the abolition
of the tobacco-tax, and submitted some
remarks i'll support OF them.
The act granting pensions to de
pendent parents of soldiers, &c, having
been returned by the House as asked
yesterday by Mr.. Hoar, who had moved
TO reconsider the vote passing it, Mr..
Platt stated that the motion to reconsi-
der had been made ut mis- request. The
bill pensioned the survivors OF the
Black Hawk, Seminole, and several
other Indian wars. That he did not
object to, but he wished to refer to some
statistics MS to the amount that the bill
was going to require, and to compare
it with the amount which il would re-
uuire for Union soldiers. He would do
that soon.
At o'clock the Senate proceeded TO
the consideration of the bill to prohibit
members of Congress from acting As
attorneys oremployces for railroad COM
panies holding charters, or having r.
ceived grant Of lands, or pecuniary aid
from the United States.
Mr.. Berry addressed the Senate in
advocacy of the bill. He did not be-
lieye senator or member drawing
$4,000 or $4,000 il year from the
Union Pacific or Northern Pacific rail
road Company could act and vote i'm
partially on the Pacific funding bill or
on the Northern Pacific land-forfelture
bill.
Mr.. Teller said that ne was prepared
to vote against the hill notwithstanding
the newspaper clamor; notwithstanding
the effort made to attract attention -
the fact that the Senate was body of
lawyers, and the charge that senator's
were deyOting to the practice of law for
railroad corporations the time which
they should devote to the public ser
vice. For himself ne believed that the
public confidence in Congress would BE-
largely promoted by members abstain
ing from employment of that character.
But he argued that men who come 10
Congress did not, Therefore, give up
.heir business and profession. lie WIS
opposed both To the original bill Deck 81
and to the substitute reported for 1t.
He believed that the substitute WAS not
quite so good as the original bill, and if
he were to choose between them he
would prefer the original hill.
Mr.. Wilson, OF Maryland, made an
argument in favor OF the original bill,
which he regarded as m exercise OF the
undoubted power of Congress to pass
laws regulating the conduct of mem
bers. Never before, said he. was there
a complication Of circumstances more
imperatively calling for such legisla-
ton.
Mr.. Frye here took the floor in order,
as he said, to give piece of informa-
ton. He read IN Associated Press tel
egram Just received from Eastport, Ne. ,
stating that the winter school Of herring
had struck into the American shore,
aud that about twenty-five English
boats and vessels we're there fishing
within the shore line, and that mean
while The English cruiser Middleton
was cruising between PASSPORT and st.
Andrews ready to seize any American
fishermen that might venture beyond
the dead line. That was all, he said.
Mr.. Call argued against the bill.
The question which it presented was,
he said, as to whether the Senate could
be trusted to preserve its purity and
character. The bill affirmed that it
could not be unless the Senate said that
it was so corrupt that it could not be
trusted to expel dishOnorable members.
This legislation was unnecessary, and it
opened up the possibility that 1t might
be used i'll the interest of great con-
centnted power to destroy the power
of the people by allowing senator's to
be indicted and tried before judges and
iuries; and the fact was that there were
more Judges in the employment of rail
road companies than there were Sena-
tors or Representatives.
Mr.. Morgan argued that if there
was any good ground for the passage
of the bill that the ground should be
stated and an opportunity should be
given to the Senate to expel any sena-
tor guilty Of the offence against which
the bill was aimed. 1t looked to him
as if the bill of the Senator from Ken
lucky had been gotten up in q hur-
nv. 1t looked as if it were born in the
heat and Indignation, or, perhaps, I'M
der the pressure of public clamor.
The debate was further continued by
Messrs. Plat, Hoar, Call, Morgan,
Beck, and others, but no action was
reached.
Two veto-messages were received
from the President-one of private
pension bill and one of bill for the
relief of u mail-contractor in the North
west.
Mr.. Hoar withdrew his motion to re-
consider the vote by which the depend
ent-parents' pension bill was passed
Yesterday. He explained that he had
an objection TO the clause about de-
pendent parents, but he did not wish
by offering an amendment to imperil
the final passage OF the bill.
Adjourned till tomorrow.
House OF Representatives.
The House met at IL o'clock in con-
t,,rat;n,, 90 vaafar.3av'a oaaq;or and tho